January • 11–25: At the Hatsu-basho,
yokozuna Asashoryu comes back from three tournaments out injured to defeat his fellow yokozuna
Hakuho in a
playoff on the final day to claim his 23rd tournament championship with a 14–1 record, putting him in sole possession of fourth place on the all-time list. His only defeat in the tournament is to Hakuho in their regular match. Hakuho is denied his fourth straight championship and has to settle for the runner-up position. New
ozeki Harumafuji barely makes his
kachi-koshi with eight wins.
Goeido wins ten bouts and receives the Ginosho or Technique
Prize.
Homasho, who has fallen to
maegashira 16 in the rankings, scores an impressive 11–4 and is awarded the Fighting Spirit Prize.
Shotenro wins his second straight
juryo division championship and promotion to the top
makuuchi division. Former maegashira
Katayama announces his retirement, and leaves the sumo world. • 29:
Japan Sumo Association chairman
Musashigawa criticises Asashoryu for raising his arms above his head whilst still on the
dohyo in the aftermath of his playoff win. • 30: Juryo and former maegashira wrestler
Wakakirin is arrested for
cannabis possession at a CD store in Tokyo's
Roppongi district that had been monitored by police for some time. He is the fourth wrestler after
Wakanoho,
Roho and
Hakurozan, to be caught up in a drug scandal, but the first Japanese. At the drug tests in September 2008 that led to the dismissals of Roho and Hakurozan, Wakakirin's sample was borderline before eventually being declared negative. • 31: The retirement ceremonies of
Tochisakae and
Tochinohana take place at the Kokugikan.
February • 1: At a meeting of the
elders of the Japan Sumo Association,
Wakakirin is dismissed from sumo. His stablemaster
Oguruma, who had already submitted Wakakirin's retirement papers, is given a pay cut for three months and demoted. • 8: Hakuho wins the one-day Japan Ozumo Tournament held at the Kokugikan in Tokyo. Although unofficial, the tournament is sponsored by
Fuji Television and the
Sankei newspaper and offers a large amount of prize money (3 million yen for the victor). Asashoryu, the winner of the tournament for the last three years, is defeated in the semi-finals by
Kotoōshū. • 12:
Junichi Yamamoto, the former head of the
Tokitsukaze stable, goes on trial at the District Court in Nagoya for
his involvement in the death in June 2007 of one of his junior wrestlers, Takashi Saito. He denies ordering three of his wrestlers to beat Saito.
March • 2: The
banzuke for the upcoming tournament in
Osaka is released. Due to his playoff victory, Asashoryu is listed as the East Yokozuna, with Hakuho moved to the West side.
Kisenosato makes his debut at
sekiwake, and Shotenro is ranked at maegashira 12. Hakkaku stable's
Okinoumi, previously known as Fukuoka, makes his debut in the juryo division halfway up the ranks at no.7 after a 7–0 yusho at makushita 1 the previous tourney. • 5: The
Tokyo District Court awards
Kitanoumi and the Sumo Association 15.4 million
yen (154,000
USD) in damages after ruling against
Kodansha, the publishers of
Shukan Gendai, who alleged that he threw a bout for the championship in 1975. • 17:
Roho and
Hakurozan's lawsuit against the Sumo Association claiming unfair dismissal is rejected. • 26: A second ruling by the court awards Asashoryu and 29 other wrestlers representing the Association 42.9 million yen for another article in the
Shukan Gendai alleging that Asashoryu had thrown bouts in November 2006. • 29: At the Haru basho in Osaka, Hakuho wins his tenth championship with an unbeaten 15–0 score. Asashoryu finishes four wins behind on 11–4. Homasho also wins eleven and is rewarded with his second successive Fighting Spirit Prize.
Kakuryu gets the Technique Award. Ozeki
Chiyotaikai finishes on 2–13, the worst score ever recorded by an ozeki fighting the full 15 days.
Toyohibiki wins his second juryo championship with a 12–3 score and earns promotion back to the top division. Former maegashira
Otsukasa, who at 38 years is the oldest active
sekitori, announces his retirement. He will stay in the sumo world as Wakafuji Oyakata.
April • 5: The Spring tour begins with a ceremonial tournament in the
Ise Shrine,
Mie Prefecture. • 10: A ceremonial tournament is held at the
Yasukuni Shrine in
Chiyoda,
Tokyo. • 11: The tour visits
Fujisawa,
Kanagawa Prefecture. • 13: The former Wakakirin appears at the
Yokohama District Court and pleads guilty to cannabis possession. • 18: The regional tour goes to
Nagano,
Nagano Prefecture. • 19: The tour concludes at
Tochigi,
Tochigi Prefecture. • 22: Wakakirin is sentenced to ten months in prison, but
suspended for three years. • 22: The Sumo Association carries out random drug tests on 104 wrestlers and coaches from the
Musashigawa, Tokitsukaze,
Ōshima,
Ōnomatsu and
Takasago stables at the Kokugikan. The tests (for recreational drugs only) were conducted by the
WADA-certified Mitsubishi Chemical Medience Corp. All test negative. • 27: The banzuke for the May tournament is released, showing
Goeido at sekiwake and
Kakuryu and
Tochiozan at
komusubi for the first time. There are no wrestlers making their makuuchi or juryo debuts for the first time since July 2003. • 29: The
Yokozuna Deliberation Council joint practice session, attended by the
sekitori ranked wrestlers, is held in public for the first time, with around 5000 spectators in the Kokugikan. Asashoryu and Hakuho participate but do not fight each other. Instead, Hakuho fights eleven matches against the ozeki, losing twice to
Kotoōshū, while Asashoryu goes undefeated in eight bouts against Kakuryu and other maegashira.
May • 8: A group of Mongolian rikishi, including both yokozuna, play
golf together in
Chiba Prefecture two days before the start of the Natsu basho, attracting criticism from elders within the Sumo Association. • 10–24: At the Natsu basho in Tokyo, Hakuho's 33 bout winning streak in regulation matches is brought to an end by Kotoōshū on Day 14. Hakuho and Harumafuji enter the final day tied on 13–1, Harumafuji's only loss thus far being to Hakuho. Harumafuji defeats Kotoōshū while Hakuho beats Asashoryu. The subsequent playoff is won by Harumafuji who becomes the eighth foreigner to win a top division championship. Third place goes to Kisenosato, who rebounds from losing his sekiwake rank in the previous tournament by compiling a superb 13–2 score and is awarded the Fighting Spirit Prize. The Technique award goes to Kakuryu, who holds his rank in his komusubi debut with a 9–6 record.
Kadoban ozeki Chiyotaikai, who has been struggling with
diabetes and has dropped to 144 kg in weight, wins his last three matches to stave off demotion with an 8–7 mark. The juryo division championship goes to
Tamaasuka with a 12–3 record. He finishes one win ahead of
Mokonami who, at Juryo 1, is guaranteed promotion to makuuchi for the first time. The makushita championship is won by Mongolian
Tokusegawa with a perfect 7–0 record. Former maegashira
Ushiomaru retires. • 29: Junichi Yamamoto is sentenced to six years in prison, with the judge saying his "immeasurable power" as head of the Tokitsukaze stable led to abuse which "grossly disrespected the victim's human dignity." Yamamoto appeals against the ruling. • 30:
Tamakasuga's retirement ceremony or
danpatsu-shiki takes place at the Kokugikan.
June wrestlers appear at the
Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam in June • 5–6: The
Sadogatake stable travel to
Amsterdam for a two-day exhibition tournament at the
Heineken Music Hall, to celebrate 400 years of trade relationships between the
Netherlands and
Japan. • 8: 103 wrestlers and other members of the
Kokonoe,
Miyagino,
Dewanoumi,
Hanaregoma and
Kataonami stables are given doping tests for recreational drugs. :7:
Sukagawa,
Fukushima Prefecture :8:
Soma, Fukushima Prefecture :9:
Sapporo,
Hokkaido Prefecture :10:
Asahikawa, Hokkaido Prefecture :12:
Hirosaki,
Aomori Prefecture :13:
Akita,
Akita Prefecture :15:
Hachimantai,
Iwate Prefecture. Some wrestlers come down with the
H1N1 flu, and masks are distributed to spectators while the children's sumo event is cancelled. :22:
Honjo,
Saitama Prefecture :23:
Yamanakako,
Yamanashi Prefecture • 24: Asashoryu is criticised for refusing to board a bus transporting wrestlers to training on the summer tour for fear of catching the H1N1 flu strain. • 26: Drug tests are carried out on 104 personnel of the
Minato,
Sakaigawa,
Naruto,
Tatsunami,
Magaki and
Tamanoi stables. • 31: The banzuke for the September tournament is issued.
Kotoshogiku,
Baruto and Aminishiki return to the
sanyaku ranks. Tamaasuka returns to the top division for the first time in 23 tournaments. , from Tokitsukaze stable, Kise stable's
Tokushinho and Oguruma stable's Mongolian make their juryo debuts.
September • 3: The head of the
Tamanoi stable, the former sekiwake
Tochiazuma Tomoyori, turns 65 and retires. His son, the former ozeki
Tochiazuma Daisuke, takes over. • 7: 96 personnel from the
Takanohana,
Michinoku,
Kasugano,
Mihogaseki,
Takashima, and
Kagamiyama stables are drug tested. • 27: At the Aki basho, Asashoryu's run of 14 consecutive victories is ended by Hakuho, who was one win behind having surprisingly lost to Shotenro earlier in the tournament. Asashoryu wins the playoff to claim his 24th championship, bringing him level with
Kitanoumi in third place on the all-time list. It is Hakuho's third successive playoff defeat, and despite scoring 14–1 or better in five consecutive tournaments (an unprecedented feat), he has only two yusho to show for it. Baruto, who has defeated all five ozeki this tournament, finishes on 12–3 and receives his fourth Fighting Spirit prize. The Technique Award goes to Kakuryu who scores 11–4.
Bushuyama (10–5) would have received a share of the Fighting Spirit prize had he not been defeated by
Aran in his final bout. Ozeki
Kaio secures his
kachi-koshi in his record-equalling 97th top division tournament, having earlier surpassed
Oshio's 964 career wins to move into second place all-time. His fellow ozeki Chiyotaikai had already withdrawn on Day 11 having lost eight matches. The juryo championship is won by
Tamawashi with an 11–4 score, who secures an immediate return to the top division.
Georgian Gagamaru wins the makushita championship. • 27: Asashoryu and his stablemaster apologise after the yokozuna once again raises his arms in victory (the so-called "
guts pose") while still on the dohyo after defeating Hakuho.
October • 2: Harumafuji wins the 68th All Japan Rikishi 1 Day tournament held at the Kokugikan. He defeats
Takamisakari in the semifinals and
Iwakiyama in the final, and receives 500,000 yen in prize money. Hakuho is eliminated in the first round by
Tokitenku, and Asashoryu in the second by Bushuyama. • 7: 110 personnel from the
Hakkaku,
Chiganoura,
Takadagawa,
Kiriyama and
Matsugane stables are drug tested. • 15: Drug tests are carried out on 104 people from the
Otake,
Kise,
Isenoumi,
Izutsu,
Minezaki,
Onoe and
Oitekaze stables. • 17: The ninth and final batch of drug tests comprises 97 members of the
Kitanoumi,
Nishonoseki,
Shibatayama,
Nakamura,
Shikihide and
Tomozuna stables. • The autumn regional tour visits the following locations: • 22:The Sumo association announces that all those involved in the latest rounds of drug tests are clean. This means that all those tested since the process began in April have come back negative. • 29: At the Kyushu basho Hakuho wins his third championship of the year, with a perfect 15–0 record. He also breaks Asashoryu's record set in 2005 of most wins in a calendar year, by establishing a new mark of 86 wins out of 90 regulation bouts. Runners up on 12–3 are two maegashira,
Tochinoshin and
Miyabiyama, who share the Fighting Spirit prize.
Toyonoshima wins eleven and receives the Technique Award. Chiyotaikai is demoted from ozeki after a record 65 consecutive tournaments after suffering his eighth defeat against Asashoryu on Day 10. Asashoryu himself gets to 11–0 before losing his last four bouts to Harumafuji, Kotomitsuki, Kotoōshū and (for the sixth time in a row) Hakuho. The juryo championship is won by former maegashira
Kitataiki who wins a three-way playoff after a 10–5 score.
December • The winter regional tour visits the following locations: • 6–7:
Kumamoto,
Kumamoto Prefecture • 9:
Nogata,
Fukuoka Prefecture • 12:
Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture • 13:
Yamaga, Kumamoto Prefecture • 15–16:
Urasoe,
Okinawa Prefecture • The Tokyo High Court upholds the 26 March ruling against Kodansha, but reduces the damages to 39.6 million yen from 42.9 million, with Asashoryu's original amount being reduced to 7.7 million from 11 million. The judge calls the articles "sloppy journalism." • 21: The banzuke for the forthcoming Hatsu basho in January 2010 is released. For the first time in 66 tournaments, Chiyotaikai is listed as a sekiwake. Two wrestlers are making their juryo debuts – a Chinese citizen from
Inner Mongolia,
Sokokurai, and former college champion
Myogiryu. ==Deaths==